


let them into your heart (and make them better)

by isamagicdragon, muchosyouth (isamagicdragon)



Series: a sad song, but made better [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gai adopts Lee, Gai adopts Sasuke, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Superdad!Gai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-02-21 15:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isamagicdragon/pseuds/isamagicdragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/isamagicdragon/pseuds/muchosyouth
Summary: What can Gai do with strong-willed, hardworking children, if not to fan the flames of their youth?[Alternatively -  Kakashi won't accept Gai's help, but surely someone else in Konoha will.]





	1. Chapter 1

Gai is on his seventieth lap around Konoha when he notices a small blue lump in the clearing of Training Ground 9.

It’s a little boy, he discovers upon investigation. A sleeping little boy, arms nicked and bleeding, surrounded by a small arsenal of live shuriken and kunai. The targets at the far end of the clearing are studded with weapons. Most of them, Gai notices with delight, are clustered around the centers of each target.

Another youthful soul, straining themselves to test their limits! The scene is intimately familiar to Gai; he’d been in the same position countless times when he was a little boy himself. The evidence and results of this boy’s hard work warms Gai’s tender heart, and the urge to wake the boy to congratulate him on his success is strong.

Gai ignores the urge to disturb him, and continues to run laps around Konoha. The boy’s father will undoubtedly come to bring his wayward son home, just as Gai’s father always had.  
  
~

The boy is still there. Gai is beginning to worry. The sky has truly darkened now, and he has yet to see or hear any worried parents searching for a lost child. An orphan, then?

Parents or not, no child should be sleeping out in the open on a chilly night like this. Gai approaches, intending to shake the boy awake, when the boy opens his eyes himself.

“Hello, young man,” Gai greets. “You may have –”

A shuriken interrupts Gai, which he sidesteps with ease. The boy is on his feet in seconds, in an almost perfect, albeit basic, defensive stance, kunai in both hands. “Who are you?” the boy demands.

“I am Maito Gai, jounin of Konoha!” Gai says, thrusting out his chest in his best Nice Guy pose. He grins as widely and as brightly as he can, although, alas, there is no sun to give his teeth a nice gleam anymore. “I was running laps around the village, and noticed that you had unfortunately fallen asleep after your youthful training session. Won’t your parents be worried that you haven’t gone home at this hour?”

The boy relaxes his grip on his kunai, but doesn’t drop out of his stance. “No,” he says shortly.

What sort of parents did he have, for them not to worry about their beloved son being missing?! Ah, but Gai shouldn’t judge; perhaps his parents trusted in his skills enough to know that he could make his way home even after dark. Still, Gai’s conscience would not allow him to let this child go home unescorted. “Well, it is quite late now! Perhaps I can accompany you home,” he suggests.

“Tch. I don’t need you to take me home,” the boy says. He wobbles on his feet while saying it, though, so Gai very much doubts it. But he has experience in dealing with hard-headed children filled with bravado – his rival was just like this as a child!

“Well, maybe you can indulge me instead!” Gai begins craftily. “Laps around Konoha are too easy for me now, ha! I need additional weight to make it a challenge; I can carry you on my next lap until we arrive at your house!”

Unfortunately, Gai only succeeds in offending the boy. “No! I’m not letting a stranger carry me _anywhere_!” he says hotly, and begins gathering his weapons. “I can make my way home _myself_!”

Gai immediately begins gathering the shuriken nearest him, and hands them to the boy. He snatches them out of Gai’s hands grudgingly, and shoves them all into the pouches strapped to his legs. When the last stray kunai has been put away, the boy gets up and turns to go.

What, not even a thank you? How rude. Gai’s estimation of this boy’s parents sinks even lower; not only do they ignore their child’s whereabouts, they didn’t even bother raising this child with proper manners! Gai’s father, though, raised him correctly, so even though the boy declined his assistance, Gai decides to shadow him back to his home anyway. Just to make sure that the boy makes it home safely.

He manages to follow the boy undetected – Gai _is_ a jounin, after all! – until the boy takes a left turn, into the Uchiha district.

Gai freezes.

There are no parents to worry about this boy, he realizes, because this boy is Uchiha Sasuke.

~

The revelations are upsetting. Gai has been observing Sasuke-kun for a week now, and each day he discovers something worse. After that first day, Gai didn’t think anything could upset him more – the child was living _in the house that his parents were murdered in, alone_ – but each day he is unpleasantly surprised.

The second day, he discovers that Sasuke subsists solely on convenience store meals, supplemented by the occasional tomato.

The third day, he delivers a bento full of protein and vegetables to Sasuke’s home. However, he also discovers that Sasuke trains to exhaustion often, and that passing out in random training grounds is a regular occurrence.

The fourth day, he leaves a fresh first aid kit and a jar of burn cream on Sasuke’s kitchen table. But he also discovers that Sasuke trains to exhaustion _every day_ , not just _often_ , and that he talked to literally no one unless it was a teacher or another authority figure. That sort of isolation is never good for anyone, and it reminds Gai of another traumatized child, taking mission after mission to avoid talking to his friends.

The fifth day, Kakashi is brought back from another mission in ANBU, heavily injured and completely depleted of chakra. Kakashi once again refuses Gai’s pleas to quit ANBU. The Hokage once again refuses Gai’s request to join ANBU, and once again refuses his request to get Kakashi removed from ANBU.

On the sixth day, Gai returns to the Hokage with an adoption proposal for Uchiha Sasuke. If he can’t help Kakashi, surely there is someone else in Konoha that he can help.

~

“No, Gai,” the Hokage says, before Gai can even begin his arguments. “I will not accept you into ANBU, and I cannot remove Kakashi from ANBU –”

“That is not why I am here, Hokage-sama!” Gai interrupts. The Hokage appears taken aback. “I am here to talk to you about the living situation of one Uchiha Sasuke.”

The Hokage raises his eyebrows in surprise. A beat passes, and he sighs, taking a pipe and a small box of tobacco out of his drawer. “What about Sasuke-kun?” he asks, lighting the pipe.

Gai shifts from foot to foot, unsure of how to phrase his request. It’s not every day that a ninja asks for custody of a random child, after all. Especially not a child like Uchiha Sasuke. “Sir! His living conditions are not ideal for growing children – he is living in the house that his parents were murdered in. In the district his clan was murdered in. He is all alone in a haunted district; you can’t possibly allow him to stay there!”

But the Hokage was already shaking his head. “The council has already discussed this, Gai, both the civilian council and the clan heads’ council. Giving guardianship of Sasuke to anyone will have consequences for Konoha’s security and balance of power. Additionally, Sasuke-kun himself requested to stay in his family home. How could I deny him?”

“He is a child who lost his entire family in one night! He can’t possibly be dealing with the trauma well on his own. How can we expect him to make that sort of decision while he is still grieving?” Gai argues, fists clenching. “If he continues on in this isolation and despair, he cannot fulfill his potential to become a splendid ninja. He is not taking care of himself at all; he is not eating well, he is over exerting himself, and he has no one to show him the things we take for granted. Like learning to cook! And learning to clean!”

“Even if I decided to let Sasuke be adopted,” the Hokage continues, completely ignoring Gai’s outburst, “why will I give him to _you_ to be raised? What are your credentials, Gai? Just like with ANBU, you don’t have the experience needed to complete this task.”

Sarutobi-sama takes a drag from his pipe, beady eyes studying Gai.

Well. Gai will just have to prove himself again. He squares his shoulders. “I may not have experience with handling children directly, but I grew up with Hatake Kakashi, sir! I saw how early childhood trauma affected him as we grew up, and I know the signs for self-destructive behavior very well now. If you want me to gain child care experience, I will happily volunteer as many hours as necessary at the Academy or at the shinobi day care, and take as many classes and seminars on parenting that you need! I will show you –”

“I admire your concern for Sasuke-kun,” the Hokage interrupts, “but this isn’t really something that is up for discussion, Gai. The council has already made its decision. If you have nothing else to discuss with me, you are dismissed.”

Gai shuts his mouth, and bows abruptly. “As you say, Hokage-sama,” he says bitterly, and leaves.

This won’t stop him, though. Gai _never_ gives up, and he vows to himself that he will do his best to take care of Sasuke. There are other things Gai can do for Sasuke-kun, and the Hokage _didn_ ’t forbid him from making contact with Sasuke.

Gai can work with this. He’ll start with the Academy.

~

Hiruzen takes a drag from his pipe. Gai had unwittingly presented a perfect solution for Sasuke’s situation. Gai is a strong, loyal, and widely respected shinobi of Konoha. One of his strongest and most loyal, in fact, and every successful mission bolsters his fearsome reputation.

Gai isn’t affiliated with any clan, and more importantly, Hiruzen is certain that Gai is trustworthy, and is an incorruptibly good man to his core. This is exactly what makes him unsuited for ANBU, but maybe it makes him perfect for other things.

This could work. Hiruzen just needs a plan to side-step his own council.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to my three twitter mutuals who wanted to see this fic. <3 thank you for your support!!


	2. Chapter 2

The green weirdo is back, and this time, he’s followed Sasuke to the Academy. 

Ever since Sasuke met Maito Gai last week, the weirdo has _not_ left him alone. Suspicious bento started cropping up daily (all left on his doorstep by a green blur), an unexpected first aid kit was delivered to his kitchen table (Sasuke spent three hours upgrading all his house traps after that), and of course, there’s the “old man” reading the _Konoha Post_ while jogging just outside of the Uchiha Clan District. 

The asshole didn’t even bother changing out of his stupid spandex! He just put on a wig and a mustache and called it a day! Sasuke’s _eight_ now, he’s not going to be fooled by a dumb disguise.

As if the green spandex wasn’t enough of a give away, the bento boxes and the first aid kit all came with labels on their undersides – a green sticker with MAITO GAI in big kana, along with a stupid cartoon turtle. What kind of jounin _still_ used sticker labels on their things?!

Sasuke’s father raised him to be a proud Uchiha who accepted pity from no one. But Sasuke’s mother raised him to never waste food. Cooking is still beyond him, and he’s sick of microwave meals from the convenience store, so he begrudgingly accepts the bento. After a thorough check for poison, of course. He had forgotten to restock his-first aid kit, and the reminder to improve his traps was appreciated. 

The constant watching, the constant following, though – that was annoying. And now, Maito Gai is at the Academy too?

“Good morning, everyone!” Iruka-sensei calls out from the front of the classroom. “Mizuki-sensei was assigned to an extended out-of-village mission, so he will be unable to lead taijutsu classes for the next week. While he is away, Maito Gai” – their teacher gestures to the weirdo, who had struck a stupid pose with both of his fists thrust out and his thumbs sticking up – “will be taking over his classes. Gai-sensei is a jounin who also happens to be the village’s foremost expert on taijutsu. Everyone, please greet Gai-sensei!”

“Good morning, Gai-sensei!” Sasuke’s classmates chorus.

Gai-sensei steps forward, and gives a deep bow. “Good morning, young students! I look forward to sharing the joys of taijutsu with all of you! Let us meet at the Academy training grounds in five minutes for today’s lesson. Yosh!”

He promptly disappears in a green blur. Sasuke’s eyes widen, and his classmates explode into excited chatter behind him.

“Woah – did Iruka-sensei say he’s a jounin?”

“No way! That weirdo? A jounin?” 

“He was so fast!”

“Sakura, did you _see_ his eyebrows?!”

“Class, that’s enough!” Iruka-sensei interrupts. “Gai-sensei is one of the most powerful jounin in Konoha, and his time is very valuable.” The class breaks out into skeptical chatter again, and Iruka-sensei sighs. “Don’t keep him waiting, and make sure not to cross him – jounin don’t have the same kind of patience that we Academy teachers do.”

One of the most powerful jounin – that can’t be right. No self-respecting jounin would bother to pack lunches for random orphans like Sasuke.

_But if this guy really is that strong, he might actually be able to teach me something_ , Sasuke thinks begrudgingly to himself, and follows the rest of his classmates to the training ground.

~

“We will begin with the basics today, so I can gauge how brightly the flames of your youth burn as you are now,” Gai-sensei proclaims at the beginning of the lesson. “Everyone – beginning stance for the first kata of Gōken!”

Everyone groans, but they eventually shuffle into several neat columns, and get into their battle stances.

“Begin!”

The first kata is exactly that – the first taijutsu forms taught at the Academy. Everyone had already mastered it back in their first year, even Naruto. It’s humiliating to be reduced to first-grade work, but Sasuke grits his teeth and obeys anyway.

Clearly, Iruka-sensei’s warning is on the others’ minds as well, because not a single person complains. Not even Kiba – he’s at the back with Naruto. They are both miraculously focused on their kata instead of plotting their next prank.

That might have been because Gai-sensei was watching them all with intense concentration, even as he claps out the beat for the class to follow.

“Good effort, class!” Gai-sensei exclaims after they run through all the basic kata. “Now, I want you all to do a hundred push ups, a hundred sit ups, a hundred squats, and a hundred laps around the training grounds while waiting!”

Everyone’s restraint finally snaps, and the entire class erupts into complaints. 

“Now now, physical conditioning is the backbone of every taijutsu style!” Gai-sensei wags a reproving finger at them. “While you are doing your exercises, I will call out students’ names. When you are called, come forward, and we will work on correcting your kata. We will start with Akimichi-kun. Everyone else – begin!”

Sasuke picks a spot near Gai-sensei, and begins his exercises. If Gai-sensei is correcting forms, he’s not going to learn anything from his session -- Sasuke had perfected this form ages ago. Mizuki-sensei didn’t even bother keeping him in class for the refresher course they had when the school year started. But there’s still a lot that Sasuke can learn from watching Gai-sensei correct the others, and besides, he needs to brush up on his spying skills anyway. 

After a few rounds of eavesdropping, Sasuke was already picking up more than he expected.

“Akimichi-kun, feet wider apart. The standard Academy style won’t work for your body type, so we need to make some adjustments to your footwork. There, that’s right. You need to know how to stabilize yourself in any size and in any shape for your Baika no Jutsu!”

“Loosen your grip, Inuzuka-kun! You can seriously hurt your hands if you hit a target with your fists clenched like that. I may be your sensei, but I don’t have claws! You cannot punch the same way that I do.” 

When Sasuke is called, he prepares himself for a perfunctory test, and expects to be let go after five minutes. 

That leaves him blindsided when Gai-sensei corrects his form. 

“Move your left foot a bit back, Uchiha-kun, and bring your forearms a bit higher.” Gai-sensei instructs, eyes focused on Sasuke’s footwork.

“Tch,” Sasuke grits out, stubbornly refusing to budge. There’s not a single thing wrong with his form, and his teachers know it. Who does this asshole think he is? “Mizuki-sensei said my form is perfect.” 

“It would have been perfect, yes -- if you were Mizuki-kun!” Gai-sensei agrees enthusiastically. He pokes at Sasuke’s arms, and nudges Sasuke’s feet further apart. “But Mizuki-kun is taller than you, and is differently proportioned. He is your teacher, yes, so you must listen to him, but the best teacher you will ever have is your own body! Listen to it, Uchiha-kun! Be acquainted with it!” 

Sasuke is stunned to find that the minute adjustments make the position feel more natural already.

“Now run a lap; when you get back here we will check and correct your stance again.”

~

The rest of the week goes the same way. The bento keep showing up, and Sasuke keeps eating them begrudgingly. They keep working on basic kata and physical conditioning in taijutsu class, but the one-on-one instruction with Gai-sensei was really paying off. Even Naruto improves, to the point that everyone in class notices. 

On Friday, Gai-sensei comes to class emotional.

“Today is going to be my last day with your youthful class,” he informs them, failing to fight back his tears. “I would like to see your progress for myself, and for warriors like us, the best way to do this is with our fists! Today, we spar!”

The entire class _oohs_ in excitement. 

“A sparring tournament, sensei?!” Naruto shouts excitedly. “Can I fight Sasuke-teme?!” 

Gai-sensei shakes his head apologetically. “Unfortunately not, Uzumaki-kun! Today, your sparring opponent is me!” 

The entire class shuts up. 

Sasuke tenses. He’s never fought a jounin before, and while he’s fairly confident in his skills, he knows there’s still a long way for him to go before he can beat a jounin. 

“Don’t worry!” Gai-sensei continues, giving them all a thumbs-up. “Since I am a jounin, there is no way for a one-on-one spar to be fair. So I will give you an advantage. I will spar against all of you, at the same time! Yosh!” He drops into his battle stance, feet wide in the same way he taught their class, hands beckoning. “Prepare yourselves, and when you’re ready, come at me!” 

A beat passes. 

“Well, if no one else wants to go first, I will!” Naruto yells, and charges straight at Gai-sensei. 

Naruto is flipped onto the ground in a heartbeat. 

“Good job, Uzumaki-kun, your footwork has improved by miles!” Gai-sensei drops back into his stance, and makes eye contact with the rest of Sasuke’s classmates. “Come now, show me what you have learned this week!” 

The rest of his classmates attack Gai-sensei together, and he laughs in delight. “Yosh! That’s it! Fan those flames of youth!” He blocks a palm from Hinata, and catches Kiba’s kick from behind. “Hyuga-kun! It makes me glad to see you taking the initiative today! And Inuzuka-kun, you’ve improved the power behind your kicks!” He tosses both children to the side. “Again!” 

“Well, I can't let Kiba and Naruto show me up!” Sakura proclaims, and she takes off, running, towards Gai-sensei’s left side. Ino screeches, unwilling to let Sakura show her up, and immediately follows on the right, but Gai-sensei dodges at the last minute and the girls end up punching each other. 

“Yes, yes, that's it! Use your rivalry to help each other improve!” Tears of pride stream down Gai-sensei’s cheeks as he sends both girls tumbling away. “And the rest of you! Do you not wish to test your progress against a jounin’s strength?”

He meets Sasuke’s eyes knowingly. Sasuke scowls, and launches into an attack of his own. 

~

“It was thirty on one, and we didn't land a single blow on him!” Naruto complained to Iruka-sensei. “No fair at all! If we had gone one on one I woulda gotten him for sure!”

Tch. As if Naruro, on his own, could manage what none of them could manage, even with the advantage of thirty other distractions. Even Sasuke didn't land a hit, and that fact still galls him hours after the tournament. 

Sasuke had perfect taijutsu, improved _beyond_ perfect in the five days Gai-sensei replaced Mizuki-sensei, and he _still_ didn't land a single hit. Clearly, the Academy’s definition of “perfect” taijutsu is lacking, and there's still much more for him to learn. 

That day, he stays behind to talk to Iruka-sensei. 

“Can I help you, Sasuke?” Iruka-sensei asks warmly, as he packs away his things. 

“I’ve progressed beyond what Mizuki-sensei can teach me in taijutsu,” Sasuke says bluntly. “Can I ask for advanced lessons with a jounin instead of going to taijutsu class?”

His teacher gives him a knowing smile. “Impressed with Gai-san, huh? Unfortunately, you still need to attend and pass the regular Academy classes if you want to progress to the next grade, but there's nothing stopping you from training on your own time. I'm sure if you ask him nicely, Gai-san will agree to take you on as an apprentice of sorts.”

Askhim nicely -- that means Sasuke will have to approach the green weirdo himself. How annoying. 

~

The next morning, Sasuke resolves to ask Gai-sensei for extra lessons when he meets the weirdo on his morning jog. 

But the “old man” in the jumpsuit is nowhere to be found. 

He frowns. There was a bento on his doorstep earlier -- that means Gai-sensei had come by. But he’s usually loitering around this bench, pretending to read the papers, around the time that Sasuke leaves his house. 

Maybe he’s still on his morning jog? Gai-sensei uses the same route that Sasuke does (but repeats the loop an unreasonable number of times a day), so Sasuke just shrugs and goes on with his morning run. That green jumpsuit will turn up. Annoyingly, that has become one of the few things that Sasuke can count on these days. 

And it did turn up -- the _crashes_ and _booms_ of an extremely destructive spar precedes it, but when Sasuke approaches Training Ground 9, there is no mistaking it. A green blur that was unmistakably Gai-sensei is facing off against a silvery streak, their volley of attacks too fast for Sasuke to perceive. He slows down to a halt, and the longer he watches, the more his jaw drops. 

So _this_ is how two jounin spar. This is the level he needs to reach in order to defeat Itachi. 

When the spar ends -- a victory for Gai-sensei, no less -- Sasuke swallows his pride. 

“Gai-sensei! Please train me as your apprentice!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand I'm back from the dead. I unfortunately lost my notes on this AU, so it might be a while before I can recall the story beats I was planning to hit, but I really really really want to finish this fic. I have so many ideas for Papa!Gai!!!
> 
> If any of y'all want to reach me, my tumblr is [here](https://muchosyouth.tumblr.com), and if you're interested, my atla sideblog is [here](https://zukosturtleducks.tumblr.com) and my fmab sideblog is [here](https://late-to-the-fmab-party.tumblr.com). 💖

**Author's Note:**

> thanks again to [thegracious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegracious/pseuds/thegracious) for beta reading this work! you're the best <3
> 
> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/muchosyouth) and on [tumblr ](https://muchosyouth.tumblr.com/).


End file.
